The currently accepted scientific name for Shumard oak is Quercus
shumardii Buckl. It is a member of the red oak group (subgenus
Erythrobalanus) . There are no accepted subspecies or forms.
Some authorities recognize the following varieties :
Quercus shumardii var. shumardii
Quercus shumardii var. texana (Buckl.) Ashe (Texas oak)
Quercus shumardii var. schneckii (Britt.) Sarg. (Schneck oak)
A new variety, Q. s. var. stenocarpa, with very narrow and shallow acorn
cups, has been reported in the Midwest . Maple-leaf oak, which was
formerly accepted as a variety of Shumard oak (as Q. s. var. acerifolia),
has been elevated to species status as Q. acerifolia Stoynoff & Hess .
Shumard oak forms hybrids with nine other species of oaks . It
is most closely related to blackjack oak (Q. marilandica) and black oak
(Q. velutina), as determined by electrophoresis .

Shumard oak occurs on the Atlantic Coastal Plain from North Carolina
south to northern Florida; west to central Texas; north to central
Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, Missouri, southern Illinois, western and
southern Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It occurs locally north to
southern Michigan, and southern Pennsylvania . Specimens have
been collected from extreme southwestern Ontario and the eastern Niagara
peninsula .
The status of Shumard oak in Maryland is uncertain. It has been
reported in Maryland by reliable sources , but specimens were not
located by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fish and Wildlife Service
survey .